


Blind America

by Nightsidesamurai



Category: Captain America (Movies), Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers - Freeform, Gen, Hell's Kitchen, mcu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 03:11:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6548320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightsidesamurai/pseuds/Nightsidesamurai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers visits Hell's Kitchen to speak with Matthew Murdock, the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The law office of Nelson and Murdock had seen better days. Neither of his friends was speaking to him, his life had been almost destroyed by ninjas, and while things with Frank Castle had settled, he was still out there doing God knows what. Matthew Murdock was teetering on the brink of despair.

Of course that’s when one of his most difficult cases walked in.

Matt could tell immediately when the large man walked into his office that he was different. The man’s heartbeat was too slow, too steady for his size and his smell was...off. Some athletes had low resting heart rates but this man was also radiating a lot of heat for someone who wasn’t doing anything but standing in the doorway. 

It was a mystery and Matt didn’t need a mystery right now.

“I’m sorry sir but we’re not open at the moment. I’m not entirely sure when we will be open but yeah, not open”. Matt couldn’t keep all the bitterness out of his voice and he was sure the big man noticed his tone. The man didn’t move though and before Matt could object, he closed the door behind him and approached the desk.

“I would have thought that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen didn’t keep exact office hours. We have to talk”. The man’s heart didn’t skip a beat, didn’t waver one bit. He was confident, calm, and unafraid. This man didn’t think Matt was the Devil, he knew and wasn’t concerned about it. “Can I have a seat?”

Matt nodded and pointed to the only other chair left in the half-empty office before coming to his senses and responding a little too defensively. “Listen, I don’t know who you are but you’ve got me mixed up with the wrong guy. I’m just a lawyer, a blind lawyer. How do you figure I’m running around rooftops fighting crime?” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, waggling his walking stick as evidence of his blindness. The stick is the only reason he didn’t get in the face when the stranger threw a coffee mug at his head.

Matthew didn’t have time to respond other than to knock the mug away by reflex and the big man was on him. The man was fast, faster than Matt would expect from a man his size and if not for his quick reflexes he would have been crushed under his fists and feet. There was no doubt that the man was a better fighter than Matt but he was holding back, taking not to actually injure him when Matt slipped up. “I don’t know who you are but you made a mistake. This is my office and my town, you may beat me down but I’m not gonna let another thug run around making things difficult for me”. He held his cane up like a sword and squared himself, ready for another attack.

Steve Rogers smiled and held his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t really come here to fight but playing the blind lawyer with me isn’t going to cut it. SHIELD has kept an eye on you throughout your career and we thought now might be a good time to initiate a conversation”. He returned to the seat he had been occupying and sat down again, his heart still steady. The fight hadn’t even winded him.

“If I hadn’t just fought about a thousand ninjas I might not let you get away with that but I don’t want to open up my stitches...again”. Matt took his seat across from the big man and gave him a smug smile, “Didn’t SHIELD crash and burn a little while ago? I remember hearing those flying ships hit the ground like a hammer. Most organizations don’t recover from that”. Matt could understand the crashing and burning, his life for instance but he couldn’t help but rub it in a little. The man had started a fight in his office.

“Um, well yes you’re right. But enough of us still care about what’s going on to still call ourselves SHIELD. We care about this city and the people in it, just like you do”. The jab at the former SHIELD had caused a reaction but Matt could also sense the man’s sincere desire to do good and he couldn’t make fun of that, not when he was so dedicated to the portion of the city that he called his own. Matthew smiled a bit and extended a hand, “Well you obviously know me but who are you?”

The man didn’t hesitate to take Matt’s hand and give a strong handshake. “Captain...former Captain, Steven Rogers. People call me Captain America when I’m on the job”. The man seemed a little embarrassed about the code name, but nothing sells like a good bit of PR and Matt could also tell that he was proud of the work he did. 

Of course Matt had heard of him, the great Captain unfrozen from the ice and brought back into the world to fight the new horrors that made the Nazis from World War two seem like boy scouts. But what Matt didn’t understand was why a hero like the Captain would be here in Hell’s Kitchen talking to a broken down vigilante with no friends and no life. The Devil and the Captain, what an unlikely meet up.

“I’m happy to meet you Steve but I don’t know what someone like you would need with someone like me. I’m not exactly on the level of a thunder god and a giant green monster. I just try to do good in my slice of this city”. 

Steve nodded and replied, “Honestly, we need a lawyer. How about a cup of coffee?”


	2. Coffee, Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve Rogers and Matt Murdock hit the streets of Hell's Kitchen for a cup of coffee and a chat.

The streets outside of Matt’s office were dark and quiet, empty of the crowds he usually expected in the city. With the Punisher loose and a horde of ninjas having terrorized the area recently, people were taking time to heal and catch their breath. With all the destruction and fear that seemed to be building in the city, Matt was glad to see a little peace and quiet in his little corner of it. He knew that the problems would return, nothing ever really goes away, but a breather was exactly what he needed.

“You know, I can get you to a doctor for your injuries. We’ve got medical facilities like you’ve never seen.” Steve seemed concerned for Matt, unsure how the man was still ambulatory with all the injuries he’d sustained. Matt, a little smirk on his face, gestured to his visible cuts and bruises, “These aren’t so bad. I heal fairly quickly and I’m sure there’s someone else who might need those resources more than me”.

Steve stopped mid stride, surprised that Matt didn’t think he needed the help. “You’ve got at least 3 fractured ribs, both ankles are sprained, and I think a lingering concussion. How are you still walking around so calmly?” 

Matt again shared that sardonic smile. “We grow up tough in Hell’s Kitchen. You have to learn to take the pain and keep going or it’ll grind you down until there’s nothing left. Also ninja training”. Matt laughed and kept walking, feeling a bit freer to laugh than he had in a long time. Being in the presence of an American icon had that effect on people and Matt especially appreciated knowing that the Captain had come from a difficult life and understood fighting losing battles out of principle. He had gladly sacrificed himself to fight Nazis and now he was still fighting. There was something to admire about that refusal to fade away quietly into normalcy. People like himself in the Captain had a greater responsibility.

Having to out tough the rest of the world was something Steve understood intimately. Growing up how he did and then going through the meat grinder of the war didn’t leave a lot of room for people who couldn’t persevere. Steve started seeing Matt as a soldier and not just as a lawyer and vigilante. The more he thought about it, the more he saw the markings of a lone soldier fighting a war without reinforcements and without an end in sight. This man walking ahead of him, tap tapping out a rhythm with his cane on the concrete, was not out seeking thrills by beating up criminals, he really believed in the fight. Steve decided right then and there that he could trust Matt.

The smell of coffee let Matt know that they’d arrived at the right place, his favorite hole in the wall coffee shop. It wasn’t much to look at but they had the best coffee Matt had ever had, without the snobby condescension from some of the more ‘hip’ places that dotted the city. There were a few old couches haphazardly placed around the small space and at this time of night, there were only a few people sitting alone in the quiet shop.

“Large coffee, cream and sugar please”, Matt turned back to Steve and asked, “What’ll you have Steve?” Cap smiled at the teller behind the counter, “Large coffee, black please”. Matt paid for their drinks and after they were done the two men grabbed their cups and sat across from each other in an empty grouping of couches. They sipped at their hot coffee for a few minutes, enjoying the silence of the cafe before getting down to business.

Finally Matt asked the question that had been nagging him, “So why does someone like you need lawyer? I would assume that you’d have some kind of immunity as a soldier working for a government agency”. Matt was focused on the Captain’s heartbeat and pheromone signals, looking for any sign of deceit even though he knew there would be none. His paranoid instincts never really took a break, even with Captain America.

Steve sighed and nodded, “In any sort of criminal cases, me and the rest of the team has immunity and I don’t think there’s a jury that would convict one of us for beating up giant space snakes but this isn’t about a criminal case. Someone is pressing a civil suit and it’s imperative that SHIELD resources aren’t used to help in the defense”. There’s a heaviness in Cap’s voice, a guilt that Matt can’t help but notice. Regardless of his standing as the greatest American soldier, there was something related to this suit that Steve felt guilty about.

He continued before Matt could ask for more information, “There was a girl who was hurt during the whole thing with the alien invasion. She didn’t have a lot of family, just an aunt and she was hurt during the invasion as well. SHIELD was helping her with some of the medical stuff, bills and school, things like that. Once the carriers fell, we didn’t have the resources to juggle all the balls and she slipped through the cracks”. Matt finally heard the pain and guilt slip through the facade of the unbreakable soldier, the heartache of having failed someone who had relied on him.

“The girl died recently and her aunt has filed a civil suit against the only person she could easily identify from the whole debacle. Everyone knows my name and I have a residence in the city, so I’m not too hard to find.” The coffee cup is back up to his lips, a cover to give him a moment to recompose himself. “So here I am being sued by someone I tried to help, and I’m not entirely sure she’s even wrong to take it out on me. We’ve done some harm to this city, there were things we could have done better and”.   
Matt cut him off abruptly, “Don’t say that, don’t even think it. You and your team may have been involved in some property damage but the alternative would have been far worse. You’re a hero Steve, and it’ll be my job to remind people of that. Tomorrow we can get started on the details but the first thing you need to do is wipe that guilt off your face. You did your best and even now, you’re still taking on that responsibility.” Matt held his hand out Steve and smiled, this time with no smirk, “What do you say Mr. Rogers?”

Steve’s face lit up a bit and he took Matt’s hand in his firm grip, “I say we’ll make a good team Mr. Murdock. There’s just one problem; I don’t have any”.

Matt could almost see the sheepish look on Steve’s face and sighed. “Don’t worry, I’m used to it.”


End file.
